If there’s one common thread that connects traditional metropolises like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai it’s the presence of a well-established intra-city transit line. The Mumbai ‘Local’, has achieved legendary status as the backbone of the city’s commuters, while Kolkata had metro services as early as in 1984. Not to be left out, Chennai’s suburban trains are as effective especially on the elevated MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) line, which back in the 1990s became a precursor to the modern-day metro rail.

The conspicuous absence of such a transit line in a modern metropolis like Bengaluru has raised a few eyebrows. After all, the pace at which IT infrastructure has developed in the city should have necessitated better transit lines a long time ago. When inaugurated, Bengaluru’s recently constructed Namma Metro hoped to have made up for the absence of a traditional transit line. However, its sparse coverage of the city has become a case of too little too late.

No wonder then that only two days ago, a traffic index launched by Dutch consumer technology company TomTom ranked Bengaluru as the world’s most congested city in terms of traffic. This dubious distinction is perhaps why Budget 2020 allocating a sum of Rs 18,600 crore to launch the city’s first-ever suburban rail network comes as music to the ears of Bengaluru’s commuters.

While the good news is that the Southern Metropolis is all set to get its first-ever suburban train network, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not commit to a timeline for its completion. What the Central Government did commit to, however, is equity funding to the tune of 20 percent of the project’s cost.

“A suburban train project at a cost of Rs 18,600 crore will be implemented in Bengaluru,” said Sitharaman, “The Centre will contribute 20 percent of the funding and give external funding assistance of up to 60 percent of the cost.” Incidentally, Nirmala Sitharaman represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha.

What is known of the proposed suburban rail network is that it will cover an estimated 148 kilometres, with reports pointing to coverage of several suburban pockets along the city’s Outer Ring Road (ORR). Incidentally, these are also the pockets that are seeing investments from top IT majors in Bengaluru.